All praise belongs to Allah alone, the Lord of everything that exists. May Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Messenger Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam).

Today when the Scholars have become few and the speakers have increased to great number, it is very important to clarify few things in this regard.

Firstly, to the Duats:

The ignorance has taken the place of Ilm and the speakers have taken the place of Scholars and the Masses except the few took these speakers as scholars. Every caller to Islam should take into account the position he belongs to and he shouldn’t transgress that limit (position). We see nowadays that few callers to Islam take strange position in matters related to our Deen in contrary to well defined Rulings and they impart these deviant knowledge to the Masses.

It is obligatory on the Duaats to connect the masses to the Scholars of Ahl us Sunnah and should be limiting themselves from giving any ruling except the correct one.

Secondly, to the masses:

It is incumbent upon you o Ahl us Sunnah to differentiate between the Scholars and other than scholars like student of knowledge, duats, writer and others. You should listen to everyone who is on Correct Aqeedah but always make sure to make your reference point – the Kibar ulama. In case of any misunderstanding, always refer back to scholars who are well grounded in religion instead of taking the strange ruling or other than this.

Below is the short advice by Shaykh ’Abdul’Azeez bin Rayyis ar-Rayyis :

My brothers, it is a must to differentiate between a scholar, preacher, admonisher, literary writer, student of knowledge, pious worshiper and others. It is incorrect to mix them all together (as being on the same level) otherwise we will fall into a grave calamity.

It is verified in the Two Saheehs from the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed (radi Allahu ’anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) said:

“Among those who came before you was a man who killed ninety-nine men. So he asked about where he could find the most knowledgeable of the people on earth. He was told to go to a Monk (a pious worshiper), so the man asked him ‘I have killed ninety-nine people, is there any tawbah for me?’ The monk replied ‘No’. So the man killed him too to make the number of those who had killed one hundred. He then asked again about where he could find the most knowledgeable person on the earth and was told to go to a scholar. The man said to the scholar ‘I have killed a hundred people, is there any tawbah for me?’ The scholar replied ‘Yes, what is there between you and tawbah? Go to such and such a land where there are some people worshipping Allah, go and worship with them.’” To the end of the hadeeth.

Pay attention brothers, when the matter became confused and mixed up and he did not differentiate between the pious worshiper and the scholar this calamity occurred.

When did the pious worshipper err? When he transgressed his bounds, if he remained on what he was doing in terms of worship then his action would not be censured, but when he transgressed this and placed himself into the position of the people of knowledge he erred and his recompense was to be killed.

Likewise, those admonishers that you see who give sermons, or those reciters and du’at or others, when they transgress their bounds – then know for certain that they are incorrect in doing so.

Thus, the people have to differentiate between the du’at, admonishers and reciters and between the ’Ulama and students of knowledge.

The criteria for truth are that you look at a man’s condition and assess:

Is his da’wah based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam), and what the Salaf us-Salih from the Sahabah, Tabi’een and those who followed them, traversed or not?

If so, then he is a caller to truth.

An error

with those who do not know is that they think that the criteria of da’wah is that a man has a lot of followers or that those who attend his lessons and lectures are many,yet this is a major error.

For the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) stated, as reported in the Saheeh from the hadeeth of Ibn ’Abbas (radi Allahu ’anhu),

“A Prophet will come on the Day of Judgement and he will have a man or two with him. Then another Prophet will come with a group of men with him, while another Prophet will come with a small group of followers. Then another Prophet will come with no followers with him whatsoever.”

This is a Prophet! Allah chose him to have this great status and yet with that he will come with no one with him; his da’wah is still successful without doubt because he is Prophet.

So the criteria of truth is not having many followers, rather from what the Prophet (sallall hu ’alayhi wassallam) informed of, is that, in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah and Ibn ’Umar, and in the wording of Abu Hurayrah (as reported in Saheeh Muslim): The Messenger of Allah said:

“Islam began as something strange, and will return (to being) strange as it began, Toobah is for the Ghurab (strangers).”

Thus, the people of truth are a few yet this is not a proof of their da’wah being erroneous. Rather, when you read the Book of Allah you will find that Allah in many verses clarifies that the people of batil are many and the people of truth are few. Allah says,

“…and among them is he who is guided, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.”

{Hadeed (57): 26}

And Allah says,

“And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah.”

{al-’An’am (6): 116}

Therefore,

having many followers is neither the criteria for the truth nor is eloquence and articulacy because many people see an eloquent man who is articulate and poetic and think that he is on the truth due to that, and this is a mistake.

Yes, eloquence, being articulate and poetic if used in order to support Allah’s deen is sought-after; yet it is not the criteria for truth or batil.

This eloquence and articulacy has to be looked at to see:

if it is being used to support the deen or not. If it is being used to support Allah’s Book, the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) and the way of the first and foremost ones then bring this (eloquence)!

But if it (such eloquence and articulacy) is being used in a way which opposes Allah’s Shariah then it is unacceptable.

Source: [ From the Book: A Critique of the Statements of Dr Ā’id al-Qarnī by Shaykh ’Abdul’Azeez bin Rayyis ar-Rayyis, pg 5-6, Third Introduction]

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Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said:

"If a man comes out of his house carrying a burden of sins like the mountains of Tihamah, then when he hears some knowledge he fears Allah and repents, he will go back home with no sins on him.
So do not forsake the gatherings of the scholars."
[Miftah Dar as-Sa’adah, 1/122; Fara’id al-Kalam, p. 135.]

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